Police officers and other safety personnel often carry non-lethal weapons as well as firearms as part of their jobs. Such jobs often take the officers into potentially dangerous and hostile environments. While use of a non-lethal weapon may be a first priority in a volatile environment, use of a firearm may become necessary as a last resort. Drawing of a firearm normally indicates that a situation has escalated to a dangerous point at which point, knowledge by other officers or a central dispatch service of the drawing of said firearm may be advantageous. Such knowledge may allow other officers to assist the officer who has drawn the firearm, or may allow the central dispatch the ability to send additional officers for assistance. In addition, knowledge of other information about the officer's condition, such as a location and/or a history of movement may assist dispatch and other officers in helping the officer who has drawn the firearm.
Current methods of communicating such information relate to manual notification by the officer who has drawn a weapon to other officers or dispatch. However, in a situation that has escalated to a point that requires the drawing of a firearm, the officer may not have the ability or time to manually make such a notification, as the officer's hands may not be able to leave the firearm, and the officer's attention must be focused on the potentially hostile situation. Accordingly, it is advantageous to have such notifications automatically communicated on behalf of an officer drawing a firearm.
Accordingly, a need is identified for a system for monitoring the drawing, use, and/or discharge of firearms, as well as monitoring various conditions and parameters associated with the users of the firearm.